Stop focusing on the years you will live, but rather on what you will do with the years you are given.

I wrote about QR codes back in March/April 2011.  So what has changed in a year?  Well for one, we built our own hosted QR code application.  What makes this so special?  This proprietary app has the ability to create editable QR codes, meaning we create the code once, and can redirect it to forward to various URL’s as often as well like.

Why is this an advantage?  Consider this…today I could point the code to a blog post, tomorrow it could land you on a YouTube video, then the next day on your Mobile Website “register to win” contest, then…I think you get the point.

So, why does this matter?  For one, it extends the life of your QR code and any printed materials or websites it resides on.  Second, it permits you to expand some of your marketing programs, and third, make it easier to engage your audience with you brand.

We have created some creative uses for these editable QR codes.  So far they have been created for iPad Nano’s to make them wearable by a retails staff, on shirts, caps, pillows, etc.  Some of the uses have been to run contests, treasure hunts, register to win campaigns and improve the delivery of electronic programs, such as newsletters.

A quick recap on QR codes.  QR stands for Quick Response.  You need a QR code generator (ours creates editable codes as stated above) and a QR code reader *reads the code and transports you to the destination the advertiser intended.  Typically they are put on brochures, business cards, flyers, magazines, product packaging and signs.

See the code embedded in this message and feel free to save it as an image on your computer.  Scan it every so often to see how it lands you in different places.  One code with multiple uses.  Now that progressive.  With tools like this, you will learn how to market naturally.

Most business owners have a website, a blog, or both.  Some have combined them into one.  We are the latter of this example, where our blog is the website.  If you desire to do business on the web, like many of your clients will, you have to understand page ranking and how things are found on the web.

All search engines, like Google.com, use a variety of methods to determine which pages are displayed high (on the first page, top lines) in their results.  Their exact methods (algorithms) are private, but there are things you can do to improve your overall ranking.  This is often referred to as Search Engine Optimization, or SEO.  Utilize as many of these tips as appropriate to move you up the rankings.  We’ll focus on Google in most of our examples, since it is the number one search engine currently.

Links

One of the biggest factors Google looks at is the linking, or what is referred to as hyperlinks.  Google looks at both links to and from your website when it searches your site.  Google also looks at the words you use in links to help determine the content of your page.  To take full advantage of this, use links within web pages as a way to emphasize keywords.  Instead of using the phrase, “click here to learn more about SEO” you could say: “Read more about SEO” (Search Engine Optimization).

Links from other websites to your website are used to determine PageRank as well.  You can use Google Toolbar to check your current PageRank.  You can improve your PageRank by exchanging text links with other relevant websites.  Banner exchanges are not as effective.  You can also improve your PageRank by making sure your website is listed with important directories.  In other words, check the PageRank of the home page of the directory.

Keywords and Key(word) Phrases

You can focus on one word or a short phrase that best describes your product or service If you were searching for your own website, what keyword phrase would you type into Google for each page?  It may be helpful to get a different perspective.  Ask someone else to read your page and suggest what they think your keyword phrase might be.  .  You may want to read about effective Google searches to see how keyword phrases help with searches.

You can also check Google Trends to see if one phrase is starting to gain popularity.  Try to stick to one subject per page, and stick to one keyword phrase per page.  That doesn’t mean you should write unusual text or odd phrases.  Clear, consistent writing is both easier to search and easier to read.

Density or Repeating Information

Another thing Google looks for when it catalogs pages is the density of the keyword usage.  In other words, how often the keyword occurs on that page.  Use natural phrasing as the rule here.  Don’t try to trick the search engine by repeating the same word over and over or making text “invisible.”  It doesn’t help and, in fact, that behavior may get your website banned.  Provide a strong opening paragraph, since Google may not search beyond the first 200 words for keyword density.

Assigning Names to your Pages

This is such an easy process, but many miss it by a mile.  If you do not specify the names of your pages in settings, they will be given a default name by your system.  WordPress, as an example, will use numbers at the end of your page to assign it a specific location.  For example www.mywebsite.com/page=123.

Most experts agree that keywords in the title have a greater weight than keywords in the body text.  It’s only logical that if a page has a title of “baseball teams” that the page is more about MLB than it is about bats or equipment, even though those words may be mentioned more often in the page.  Google does keep track of titles and index them separately, because you can restrict your searches to Web page titles.  It stands to reason that they index titles separately, because they weigh them separately.

Graphics Need to be Search Friendly

Many home pages use Flash on them.  You may enjoy the techie look and feel, but search engines tend to skip over them.  Even if it does not skip it, the ability to read it is limited.  You can use text links instead of flash.  You can also tag your images so they can be read by the search engines as well as your visitors.

Check all available Directories

Some of these sites may be known to you, but you can go to one place (dmoz.org) and search them all for your site, to verify if you are on the directory.  Sites like AltaVista, AOL, Bing, Delicious, Digg, Gigablast, Lycos, and Yahoo, just to name a few.  If you are not found here, then submit it.  Also, consider specialized directories that may represent your industry, as an example.  Don’t get crazy here, just ensure you are where you are supposed to be.

Good luck.  This is just another way to help you Market Naturally.

We just held a week long Leadership Conference here in Arizona.  Six straight days of events, five were noon time short programs.  The last was a four hour application session, where we focused on how to apply these newly learned principles.

We heard from five different voices in as many leadership disciplines.  The schedule was as follows:

Self Leadership – Karen Gridley

Group/Team Leadership – John Elson

Knowledge Leadership – Steve Meisenheimer

Technology Leadership – Cliff Jones

Becoming the Champion in your Business – Frank Agin

I will share what I learned as the weeks after the conference roll by, but today, I feel compelled to list the seven traits of leaders shared by John.  He gleaned these from the myriad of leadership books he has read in his lifetime.  This list is as follows, and is self-explanatory:

1. Self-motivated
2. Tenacious, especially as it relates to achievement
3. Hard working
4. Organized
5. Practice obstacle management
6. Solid decision makers
7. Good time managers

While they may not master all of these, they practice them with the intent of continual improvement.  As small business owners, we should do the same.  We can’t control those around us, but we can control the one who looks back at us in the mirror.  Improve your leadership skills and you will motivate and inspire those around you to do the same.  An organization can only raise to the level and competence of its leaders.  Don’t be the reason your company fails to grow, but rather, be the catalyst that propels it to new heights.  Market Naturally.

What is lacking in business today?  It is the absence of true leadership.  The vision caster, not the task master.  The cheerleader, not the crowd pleaser.  Too often leaders are known for their intimidation, manipulation and lying.  These  traits breed contempt, not trust.  If we are going to right the wrongs and turn this economy around, we better get this under control and start doing the right thing.  Success in the future depends on people, and in order to achieve success, people depend on leaders.  What we need in all walks of life and all endeavors is leadership.

Robert H. Rosen, in his book, “Leading People,” has identified eight principles of successful leaders.  When integrated together, they form wisdom in action.

1. Vision: Leaders need to develop the vision for the enterprise and articulate it to the entire organization.  This creates a common purpose with everyone working toward a common goal.  This communication needs to be face-to-face, not videos, publications or large meetings. For front-line employees this means their supervisors, not the CEO or the executive team.
2. Trust: Without trust, vision becomes an empty slogan.  Asking employees to take risk, be entrepreneurial and give up the known for the unknown requires a strong foundation of trust.   Managers and employees view change differently. Senior managers consistently misjudge the effect of this misunderstanding, and do not understand the effort required to instigate change.  Nordstrom Inc. issues its workers just one instruction: “Use your good judgment in all situations.” For employees to trust their leaders, their leaders must walk the talk.  To talk about change without any visible change in the behavior of the leaders is like shoveling sand against the tide.
3. Participation: The leader’s challenge is to unleash the intellectual capacity of the organization – getting everyone involved.  That makes each employee responsible for the success or failure of the company.
4. Learning: Studies show that companies that train workers and give them a stake in the business are more profitable than those who do not. Paying attention to what many analysts term the soft side of business – developing skills in management leadership and interpersonal areas of communication – is the real key to a successful change in management strategy.  Make a decision to become a superior learning organization and apply this knowledge to create real customer value.
5. Diversity: Today’s leader has a deep appreciation for people’s differences.  His definition goes beyond age, gender and ethnicity, and includes differences in lifestyle, religious beliefs, working habits and personalities.  The best leaders are not threatened by individuality. As a result, people who retain things that are important to them make far more committed employees.  Different people require different forms of leadership. And, what’s the most important thing in diversity? Having a culture of respect.  The leader understands that people who feel equal and respected are likely to deliver superior performance.
6. Creativity: In today’s fast-paced world, creativity is essential.  The best leaders focus on the strengths of a company’s employees and helps them manage their weaknesses.  The greatest contribution a leader can make to an employee is to help him discover his talents and how those talents relate to the job at hand.  Create the environment for people to experiment, take risks and fulfill their creative potential. The secret is to discover what people do well and ask them to do more of it.
7. Integrity: Today’s leader is a person of authenticity, honesty and integrity.  He stands for something.  Companies with ethical reputations attract the best employees.  They also attract and retain loyal customers.  Most leaders, I believe, want to be ethical; but in business there is a constant challenge involving conflicts and compromises and doing the right thing isn’t always easy.  So when it comes to ethics, the leader must show people the way.  Leaders never sacrifice their long-term benefit for some immediate short-term gain by compromising their ethics.
8. Community: Today’s leader does not just measure success in terms of profitability of the enterprise or individual earnings.  He measures his success by what he does for others. Leaders, by caring beyond themselves, find a deeper sense of self-fulfillment and gratification by the contribution they make to their community and the world at large. Leaders and their companies receive incalculable returns by engaging with their communities.

Our nation is starved for true leaders.  Our politicians are not leaders.  I’m not sure they ever were, but if they were, they would be able to make the tough decisions with ease.  Based on what is right, not on what gets them re-elected.  Willing to cast the tough vote, not leave the state and refuse to return until certain demands were met.  Seriously?

Our pastors, priests and religious figures are not true leaders.  If they were there would be less scandals in the church today.  The same applies for schools and teachers.  Those in authority spend more time covering things up, not dealing with the underlying issues.  The easy road is the road most traveled.  And what about our athletes and celebrities?  They are leading in some areas, just look at the divorce rate, drug use and other habits plaguing their industries.

With all this dysfunction, where should we turn for true leaders?  How about the mirror.  Leadership is a choice, not a pedigree.  Leaders are made, not born.  Leaders are people who are not afraid of failure, but rather, they are more afraid not to try.

Want to make a difference in your business and family this year?  Make YOU the difference in your business and family life this year.  Market Naturally.

If you run a business today, you are expected to have a website.  Not just a presence, something trackable.  Something you can measure the effectiveness of.  What’s a small business owner to do?  Maximize your potential with SEO, SEM and other online presence indicators.  You could look at this as your online influence.  And influence can translate to dollars.

Quantitatively measuring a brand’s online influence is a relatively new idea, but it may be one of the most important developments in online marketing since Google AdWords.  Understanding how your company interacts with its online community, and knowing which tools are effective in the ultra-specific world of the Internet, is crucial for driving your brand’s overall success.

Web Analytics 2.0 is defined as:  1. The analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from your website and the competition, to drive a continual improvement of the online experience of your customers and prospects, which translates into your desired outcomes (online and offline).

Web analytics 2.0 is a three-tiered data delivery and analysis service for small and big businesses.  The first is the data itself, as it measures the traffic, page views, clicks and more for both your website and for your direct competition.  The second is what you do with that data, or how you are able to take the information gathered via these services and apply it to your customers, whether new or existing, to make their experience meaningful and better.  And the final tier is how it all circles back together to meet your overarching business objectives, not just online but offline as well.  Data by itself is a great way to see how you are performing, but without applying what you’ve learned, it has little use.

Here are some tools you can use (these are free) to begin to develop and analyze your online presence:

• Google Analytics
• Google Web Optimizer
• Facebook Insights
• Twitalyzer
• 4Qsurvey
• Klout
• PeerIndex
• CrowdBooster

There are many others, but they come at some cost.  This short list will provide a great place to start, especially if you are on a tight budget.  As always, let get to Marketing Naturally.

As a small business owner, you need to get comfortable with metrics.  The adage “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” is pure truth.  Another way to look at it is “what’s is measured, gets done”.  The problem is most small businesses don’t measure anything.

To begin, we’ll define a few of the terms.

Measure: to ascertain the measurements of, Measurement: The figure, extent, or amount obtained by measuring, Metric: A standard of measurement and Benchmark: A standard by which others may be measured.

So we collect data (measurements), determine how those will be expressed as a standard (metric), and compare the measurement to the benchmark to evaluate progress.

So how do we decide what to measure.  Simple.  Measure those activities or results that are important to successfully achieving your organization’s goals and objectives.  Key Performance Indicators, also known as KPI or Key Success Indicators (KSI), help an organization define and measure progress toward its goals.  These are not always financial.  Oftentimes they can be related to process improvements or efficiency factors.

Here’s an example.  If you have several marketing programs to drive lead generation, you would want to track the results.  For example, you could track:

• how many leads come in (list them on a sheet of paper next to the phone)
• how they come in (phone, internet, mail, etc.)
• what source they come from (how did you hear about us)
• did you discount the sale to get the business, etc.

As you can see, if it impacts your goals (like growing sales), then it would be valuable to determine how sales are being grown.

This is the beginning, not the end, of a process that will radically change your business.  We hope this helps you learn to market naturally.

So, you’re a small business owner and you think the best way to set price is to look at your competition, then decide what you will charge.  While this is a component of setting price, it is a major mistake to use this as the only criteria.  Why?  Consider these things:

• does your competition have the same overhead as you?  office space, insurance, staff components, capital investment, etc.?
• do they have employees with benefits or do they use contractors?
• do they have more things or less things in common with your business?
• do they serve the same type of customer, or are they very different from you?

Hopefully this opens your eyes and mind to using more than the competition as your guide.  I will try to simplify it as best I can.

Let’s start with the Price Equation, which is Price = Direct Product Cost (DPC) + Overhead (OH) + Margin.  You take this formula over the volume of sales to get to your official price.  Breakeven should be the price that uses just DPC and OH added together, divided by sales volume.  Keep in mind you need to consider this formula for every product or service you have in your business.  When you take the sales volume times your price, you arrive at a revenue line projection on your income statement.

DPC are the costs directly related to the revenues they produce.  This is often referred to as an expense line called Cost of Good Sold or COGS.  For a computer manufacturer, this would include things like the mother board, hard drive, power supply, RAM, monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.  It would even include the labor on the assembly line that puts the unit together.

OH are the costs that are necessary for the business, but are not directly related to the production of the product or service.  This would include expenses like rent for the office, insurances, employees in the marketing, administration or human resources departments.

Margin is a little trickier.  Margin is what you keep, your money, the income produced from your products or services.  If you make a mistake and exclude any expenses related to DPC or OH, it will impact margin.  There are two ways to calculate margin…

• markup – which is simply calculated by taking the price and multiplying by 1 + the markup percentage.  For example, if you wanted to markup a $50 item by 35%, you would take $50 x 1.35 to get $67.50.  This would be a 35% markup.
• gross profit margin is calculated by taking (SALES minus COGS)/SALES.  Using the same numbers as above, you would take (67.50-50.00)/67.50 which would return a value of 25.9%, which is significantly lower.  The price necessary to achieve a 35% profit margin would be (cost/1-margin) or 50/1-.35 or 50/.65 = $76.92.  That’s almost $10 more than markup, which means you make that much more money when you take your costs into account to arrive at price.

I hope this helps you get better at setting price and helps you send bigger numbers to your bottom line.  Market Naturally.

Ever wonder how some people seem to overcome incredible obstacles in their lives?  No matter what they are faced with, they seem to just keep moving forward and accomplishing things.  Would you believe it is a matter of attitude?  Here are a few quotes to make you reconsider your position on obstacles:

Henry Ford said, “obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes of your goal”.

Leonardo Da Vinci said, “obstacles cannot crush me.  Every obstacle yields to stern resolve.  He who is fixed to a star, does not change his mind”.

Zig Ziglar said, “every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust”.

Chuck Swindoll maybe said it best.  He said, “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company… a church… a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

Now, that’s powerful, but only if you believe it.  You see, belief systems are pretty powerful too.  Get your attitude and belief systems in check and you will accomplish amazing things.

The four common responses to obstacles are:

1. Not try or give up.  Here you conclude it is simply too hard and you doubt your ability to win
2. You become paralyzed.  Here you do nothing but go through the motions, pretending the obstacles does not exist
3. You change course.  Here you realize you have to deal with the obstacle, but instead of tackling it head on, you divert around or away from it
4. You address it head-on.  Here you create a goal with the intent of eliminating or minimizing its impact

The key to overcoming obstacles is to address them as follows:

1. Discover the obstacle and begin to understand it
2. Engage your resources to uncover all the details of the obstacle
3. Commit resources to address the obstacle…make this a priority
4. Write a goal that eliminates or minimized the obstacle
5. Implement the strategy and gauge the progress

A well-crafted goal that is directed and a potential obstacle, will move you forward with intention, not by accident.  Do this and continue to market naturally.

Many small business owners don’t see the need to have a vision or mission statement.  This type of thinking will only lead you to frustration and defeat.  Here is why you want both.

A vision statement is a defined look at the future.  A mission statement is how you get there.  A vision is futuristic and your ultimate reason for being.  Your mission is the daily/weekly/monthly tactical steps to achieve these things.  We’ll talk about goals and how they relate later.  I want to focus on the vision and mission alone in the article.

Your vision is vital to the success of your company.  Without a vision, you cannot attain significance.  Vision Statements also define the organizations purpose, in terms of the organization’s values (values are guiding beliefs about how things should be done.)  The vision statement communicates both the purpose and values of the organization.

I believe a mission statement supports the vision, not the other way around.  A Mission Statement defines the organization’s purpose and primary objectives. Its prime function is internal – to define the key measure or measures of the organization’s success.

Let’s look at Starbucks to understand the importance of a mission statement.  They have one for every aspect of their business.  Nothing is left to chance, but rather, it helps ensure all members, suppliers and communities are on the same team.  This information is taken from their website and should inspire you to do the same for your small business.

Starbucks Coffee Mission Statement:  “Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”

To accomplish its mission, Starbucks has principles that guide all of its employees as they go about their daily business:

Our Coffee – It has always been, and will always be, about quality.

Our Partners – We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard.

Our Customers – When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers – even if just for a few moments.

Our Stores – It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life – sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity.

Our Neighborhood – We can be a force for positive action – bringing together our partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day.

Our Shareholders – We are fully accountable to get each of these elements right so that Starbucks – and everyone it touches – can endure and thrive.

So, do you think they just sell coffee?  Think again, and begin to think differently about your business.  Market Naturally.